Should we return to a largely agrarian culture?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Should we return to a largely agrarian culture? Can humans give up their fancy toys and hot fads in order to keep the planet from going through something akin to menopause?

This agrarian culture will need futile overlords to rule it. Count me in.

[Warren Dew]

What we should do is go back to a hunting culture, and avoid all the evils of agriculture. It's not going to happen, though.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

What we should do is go back to a hunting culture, and avoid all the evils of agriculture. It's not going to happen, though.

Back to Homo erectus!

[Tero]

I think we will return to the agrarian state eventually. Might leave a few cities and a few train lines etc. But after the population crash, a large portion will need to farm, as machines will not be available, only horses. New Malthus:

http://calderup.wordpress.com/2010/06/2 ... -computer/

[PsychoSerenity]

The trick is to have two stories of space instead of one. You grow crops according to their need for direct sunlight, those who need less or indirect on the north side. The two story windows would provide more available light, and you would actually get more area with direct sunshine in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky (of course being offset by the shorter day.) Having the windows mirrorized on the inside would also help. If you do this right you also get a heat column that can power a "wind turbine" on the roof to provide electricity for the building.

This is not a pipe dream, btw, folks are looking at this with a mind toward implementing it. Fresh veggies in New York City in the winter? Gold mine.

Yes, high-tech solutions like this would be a good way forward. Also science based agriculture with the aim of harnessing natural biological processes, rather than industrially overpowering them, could work wonders and massively improve sustainability. I'm very interested in the concept of permaculture and the possibility of using these techniques to re-green deserts. Farming techniques that improve soil quality, rather than eroding it, may cost more and may require more effort, but they can also have a better yield (measured per acre rather than by profit) - and especially in the long run.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The trick is to have two stories of space instead of one. You grow crops according to their need for direct sunlight, those who need less or indirect on the north side. The two story windows would provide more available light, and you would actually get more area with direct sunshine in the winter when the sun is lower in the sky (of course being offset by the shorter day.) Having the windows mirrorized on the inside would also help. If you do this right you also get a heat column that can power a "wind turbine" on the roof to provide electricity for the building.

This is not a pipe dream, btw, folks are looking at this with a mind toward implementing it. Fresh veggies in New York City in the winter? Gold mine.

Yes, high-tech solutions like this would be a good way forward. Also science based agriculture with the aim of harnessing natural biological processes, rather than industrially overpowering them, could work wonders and massively improve sustainability. I'm very interested in the concept of permaculture and the possibility of using these techniques to re-green deserts. Farming techniques that improve soil quality, rather than eroding it, may cost more and may require more effort, but they can also have a better yield (measured per acre rather than by profit) - and especially in the long run.

http://www.verticalfarm.com/